Kiki's Replacement Service
by LumpyChunks
Summary: After a 3 month vacation, Kiki returns to find all is not as it was. A new witch has come to town, replacing Kiki from the minds of the townspeople. How will she cope with the sudden jealousy of her new rival and is there anything that she can do?
1. Chapter 1

Kiki's Replacement Service

Flying over the familiar ocean on her trusted broom, Kiki breathed in a deep breath of air. She was back home. A year after leaving home to begin her training, Kiki returned to share stories of her success and to see all of her friends and family.

'Are you going to stay, Kiki?' her mother had asked her at the dinner table soon after she had returned. 'There's still a lot you could learn back here.'

'Mom!' Kiki moaned, putting down her fork. 'I'm practically a grown woman now!'

'I can't say I agree,' her father chuckled.

'I am grown up!' Kiki insisted. 'I have my own business, my own successful business at that. I have a lot of friends. You can't force me to stay!'

'Your mother's right, Kiki,' her father said calmly. 'There is a lot more you could learn back at home.' Kiki stared into her food angrily. 'But,' he father continued, 'who are we to force you to do anything?' Kiki and her mother looked to him, equally surprised.

'What?' they both said in unison.

'Well you've built a business up over the last year,' he explained while cutting his food. 'We can't make you abandon that. You've been flying very well and developed some of your other talents.' He took a bite out of a sausage. 'I don't think it'd be fair for us to hold you back.' Kiki's face lit up. 'However,' he went on, 'we are still your parents. We miss you, Kiki. We don't want you go right away. Can't you stay for a week or two?' Kiki sighed and nodded. Her father put his hand on her shoulder. 'That's my girl,' he said, giving her a gentle squeeze. He looked over to his wife and smiled warmly at her, a smile she reciprocated.

A week or two had turned into three months. Kiki was making her grand return to Koriko, excited to be returning after so long. Flying over the harbour, she waved merrily at the fishermen who waved back. Kiki felt like she knew everyone in the city. After becoming a local celebrity, business had started booming and she made a lot more friends than she had previously. She still worked in the bakery, which was still her humble home. She still helped out Osono with work and took care of the baby when she could. She still went flying with Tombo, who had finally built his bicycle-powered aircraft; a vehicle Kiki had to save him from occasionally when he got tired when he was too high. Kiki smiled to herself as she drifted over the rooftops and beyond the clock tower.

'Kiki!' she heard a voice cry over in the distance. From the window in the clock tower, she saw the friendly caretaker waving over at her. Kiki flew over toward him and hovered by the window.

'Hi, how are you?' she asked perkily.

'My word, girl, it's been a while!' he grinned. 'Where have you been?'

'Just took a break,' Kiki flew closer and rested her foot on the ledge. 'I went to see my mom and dad.'

'You should get them to see you,' he suggested. 'It'll be good for them to see how successful you are!'

'I don't want to brag...' Kiki blushed.

'Well you got a lot to brag about,' the caretaker nodded. 'Oh one of your friends has moved to town.'

'I'm sorry?' Kiki asked, confused. 'All of my friends live in town already.'

'No, another witch.' Kiki's foot slipped and she nearly fell off the broom. Recovering, she floated back up to the window. 'You alright?'

'Another witch?' Kiki asked.

'Yeah,' he said, looking worried all of a sudden. 'Are you okay?'

'Where is she?' Kiki asked. 'What's her skill?'

'It's a boy,' he explained. 'And he's living just over there.' The caretaker pointed over to the wealthier part of the city.

'A boy...' Kiki said quietly to herself. She looked up and noticed the caretaker giving her a meaningful look.

'You sure you're alright?' he asked. Kiki gave herself a little shake and kicked away from the clock tower.

'I'll see you later,' she called as she flew over toward the bakery.

Kiki set foot in front of the front door and put her broom over her shoulder. She hardly made it to the front door before Osono stormed outside and embraced her.

'Oh Kiki!' she beamed, squeezing tight. 'It's so good to see you again!'

'Hi, Osono,' Kiki said, with slight difficulty to breathe. Osono squeezed tighter before letting go and putting her hands on Kiki's shoulders.

'We've missed you so much! How are your parents? Is it good to be back? Tell me everything that happened...'

A short while later, over tea and hot chocolate, Kiki and Osono had almost finished catching up. Jiji was on the table, his face in a shallow bowl of milk. After answering hundreds of questions that were all asked at once, Kiki leant forward and changed the conversation to what she had wanted to talk about since she had returned.

'So...' she said as casually as possible, which ended up sounding so forced that Jiji even noticed. He looked up from the bowl and gave Kiki a knowing look as a drop of milk fell from his whisker. Kiki cleared her throat and ignored him. 'I've heard that there's a new witch in town.'

'Oh yes!' Osono said excitedly. 'He's wonderful, he really is.'

'Three months I've been gone and he's already wonderful?' Kiki put on a fake laugh, lifting her cup up to drink.

'Oh no,' Osono said. 'He's only been here for about three weeks.'

'What!?' Kiki slammed her cup down, stunned. 'Three weeks? Three weeks and everyone loves him?' Osono narrowed her eyes.

'I don't know if everyone loves him...' she said. 'But he is very interesting.'

'What does he do?' Kiki asked. 'Does he fly? Can he perform magic? Make potions? See into the future? What, what does he do?' Her questions came out faster than Osono's, who just looked at her, slightly puzzled. She then suddenly realised and let out a laugh.

'You're not jealous, are you?' Osono asked.

'Jealous?' Kiki asked, putting on a fake tone of surprise to her voice. 'Me? No, no. I'm not jealous. Witches can go where they please... Even though there really should only be one to each town.'

'Well there's nothing wrong with having two,' Osono said reassuringly. 'Besides you weren't here when he arrived.'

'Didn't anyone tell him you already had a witch?' Kiki said, becoming upset. 'Or did everyone forget about me?' Her eyes tearing up, Kiki looked away. Osono stood up and went toward her.

'Oh, Kiki,' she said in a motherly tone, taking her hand. 'No one has forgotten about you. Everyone around here still loves you.'

'Really?' Kiki wiped her tears away.

'Really,' Osono nodded. 'I mean you've become such a wonderful part of our community. Even though your training is over, you still came back.'

'I like it here,' Kiki smiled weakly.

'And we all like you,' Osono reassured. 'Don't worry. When everyone realises you're back, they'll all come visit you and you'll see how silly you're being.'

'I guess you're right,' Kiki sighed, calming down. She looked up to Osono and smiled. 'Thank you for making me feel better.' Osono waved her hand at her and gave her a wink. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of crying from the next room. Sighing, Osono went for the door.

'I hope we'll all see you bright and early,' she beamed. 'Kiki's Flying Delivery Service is back from vacation!' Kiki grinned and nodded. Osono left and Kiki looked over to Jiji.

'I'm being silly, right?' she asked him. Jiji gave her a look that did not reassure her...

*

The next morning Kiki dressed in her, now famous, black clothes and red hair band. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, knowing that people would be excited to see her again. Or at least, she thought that they would be excited to see her again. That being said, what if they hardly even noticed her? What if the new witch was so impressive and so talented that everyone had forgotten about her in just over three weeks? Three weeks... It took Kiki much longer than that to be respected and admired in the town and she only got that after saving Tombo's life. What did the new witch have to do? Save the entire town from an asteroid or something?

Kiki sighed dejectedly and stepped outside of her room. Jiji and Lily were outside on the ledge, looking at the ocean together. Lily looked over and jumped off the ledge and brushed against Kiki's legs. Kiki smiled.

'At least someone still likes me,' she said to herself. Walking down the stairs and across the courtyard, she entered the bakery. Osono and her husband were busy baking. He looked over and waved at him. Before he could say anything, Osono interrupted.

'Kiki, you have a visitor,' she announced. Kiki looked into the shop and saw Tombo stood there, holding some flowers and checking his appearance in the reflection of the store window. 'I was just about to get you,' Osono said as Kiki hurried into the shop.

'Hi, Tombo!' Kiki grinned. Tombo, startled by Kiki's sudden appearance, jumped forward and bounced off the window.

'Ah,' he winced, holding his head. 'Hey, Kiki!'

'Are you okay?' she asked, feeling bad about scaring him.

'Fine,' he grinned. 'My head's as thick as a cannonball. When did you get back?'

'Yesterday,' Kiki said. 'I was going to visit you but Osono and I...' Tombo waved his hands.

'Don't worry about it,' he said, realising that he was waving the flowers around. 'Oh these are for you.' Kiki took the most beautiful red roses from him and smiled uncontrollably. From the back, Osono and her husband were watching.

'Oh, Tombo,' Kiki cried. 'They're beautiful.'

'If I had known when you were coming back,' he explained, 'I would have gotten you something much nicer.'

'No, these are lovely.' Kiki looked at him through his thick, goofy glasses and into his deep, mature eyes. 'Thank you.'

'Well I can't take all the credit,' Tombo said, blushing. 'The flowers were made by Xavier.' Kiki took her eyes off the flowers.

'Xavier?' she asked. 'Who's that?'

'Oh didn't you know?' Tombo asked rather callously. 'He's the new witch. Only moved in about three weeks ago.' From the back room, Osono and her husband were making frantic hand gestures to make Tombo stop what he was saying. 'He's amazing. He's got so many talents, like the flowers. He made the park bloom with roses and tulips and flowers I've never even heard of. And when you pick them, they grow straight back. Isn't that neat?'

'It's wonderful,' Kiki said, her voice lacking the enthusiasm of Tombo's, who suddenly noticed Osono waving in the back. Kiki saw that he was staring at something and turned around sharply, causing Osono and her husband to duck back behind the wall, crashing into some baking pans.

'Is everything alright?' Tombo asked.

'Why do people keep asking me that?' Kiki snapped, stepping behind the counter and throwing the roses into an empty vase that Osono had conveniently left out for her.

'Uh...' Tombo thought for a second. 'Because people think something is wrong?' Kiki turned to look at him.

'Well I am fine, thank you very much!' she said unintentionally patronisingly.

'You know...' Tombo stepped back, 'this reminds me of when we first met.'

'Speaking of first encounters,' Kiki walked from behind the counter. 'I want to meet this new witch; this Xavier. Where does he live? The rich district? What kind of a name is Xavier, anyway? Is he foreign? Couldn't he have gone to a town in his own country?'

'Well...' Tombo hesitated.

'Of course he could have!' Kiki said loudly. She suddenly realised what she was saying and gave herself a little shake. 'Well, let's go!' She opened the front door.

'Kiki, are you sure you're...'

'I'm fine!' Kiki put on a tone of fake enthusiasm. 'Just fine! Let's go!'

*

Walking down the street, both Kiki and Tombo were quiet. Tombo, being the gentleman, was carrying Kiki's broom for her. A few people had waved at them and told Kiki that it was good to her back, but not as many people did that as she would have wanted or expected. Tombo looked over to Kiki who looked as if she was marching rather than walking. Her fists were tight together and her eyes were dead ahead.

'I know you're probably disappointed,' Tombo said finally. 'About not getting the welcome home you wanted.'

'It's fine,' Kiki shook her head. 'Really, I didn't expect anything fancy.'

'Well I know the guys at the Aviation Club would love to throw you a party,' he said, trying to cheer her up. Kiki did not respond. Tombo looked forward and they walked a little bit more in silence. Tombo let out a laugh and looked back to Kiki. 'Remember when you tried teaching them how to fly? And we all ended up jumping off hills and just rolling down, making fools of ourselves?' A weak smile formed on Kiki's face.

'I told you that you can't fly,' she said. 'But you didn't listen.'

'Hey, we all gotta try!' Tombo laughed. 'At least it wasn't as bad as when we both went on your broomstick and you jumped off to leave me to fly it.' Kiki laughed. She had a clear image in her head of Tombo dropping straight into the ocean as she landed on the harbour. Tombo stepped close to her. 'This new guy doesn't have the memories that we've all shared with you over the past year,' he whispered to her. 'Remember that.' Kiki stopped and looked at Tombo.

'You're right...' she said, giving herself a shake. 'I don't know what's wrong with me. I-'

A smooth swoosh noise came from up above. Beams of coloured light passed overhead, as gracefully as a bird flying through the sky. The light passed in between the buildings and formed a ribbon around the clock tower. Kiki took her broomstick and she and Tombo flew above the buildings to get an unrestricted view of what was going on.

'What's happening?' Kiki asked him.

'Just watch,' Tombo grinned, his excitement annoying her.

The beams of light scrolled up around the clock tower until they merged into two thick strands of multicoloured light that faded in between colours. They merged at the top at the steeple and suddenly a large beam of light was projected over the city. Circular in shape, the magical light went over Kiki's and Tombo's heads and spread out as far as the eye could see. It was a dark blue in colour that had faint streaks of white moving in around feely inside. It made a gentle, breezy noise as it passed overhead. When the noise could no longer be heard; there was a faint crackle. Then the only noise that came from the city were the gasps of awe as from the light above them, snow began falling down to the ground. As it fell and landed on rooftops or on the street, the snow transformed into other multicoloured spheres of light before fading away. Tombo reached out his hand and as a flake of snow landed on it, it turned into a white rose.

'Wow...' he said. 'Look at this!' Kiki ignored him as some snow fell before the light at the steeple vanished and a single figure was left in its wake, holding onto the steeple casually. The people on the ground were holding similar presents. Some were flowers; some were small trinkets that had specific meaning to the people holding them. Over at the bakery, Jiji and Lily were looking at a small fake mouse. Kiki immediately flew over to the clock tower.

The boy holding the rail was undeniably young, probably the same age Kiki was when she first came to the city. He had blonde hair a little shorter than Kiki's and blue eyes that were the same colour as the ocean and almost as deep. He wore more conventional clothes than Kiki had imagined, just a black shirt and trousers with black shoes. He was slim and about the same height as Kiki. As she approached him, he spun around the pole and jumped into the air. Kiki stopped suddenly as, with no assistance from a broom, the boy passed through the air and stopped just short of the two. He held out his hand.

'Xavier,' he introduced himself. 'I have been looking forward to meeting you.' He spoke in a smooth and elegant manner that annoyed Kiki. Nevertheless, she took his hand and put on a smile.

'Kiki,' she said.

'Hi!' Tombo announced loudly.

'Hello, Tombo,' Xavier smiled. He looked at the rose in his hand. 'Enjoying my flowers again?' Kiki gritted her teeth. Tombo laughed nervously.

'Are you the flower boy, then?' Kiki asked. 'Like... I'm the flying delivery girl. Are you the flower boy?'

'Oh, no,' Xavier held his hands up, chuckling. 'My talent is... hard to define.'

'Of course it is...' Kiki said under her breath. 'That was pretty impressive, though. That light show. When I first came here, I was nearly arrested for flying through the streets.'

'Oh, the mayor asked me to do this,' Xavier said. Kiki lost control of the broom and lost altitude. Regaining herself, she flew back up. 'Are you alright?' he asked.

'I'm fine!' Kiki insisted, becoming more annoyed at the number of people who had asked her that. 'Why did they mayor ask you to do that?'

'He just wanted something to celebrate his birthday,' Xavier explained.

'I've only ever met him once...' Kiki muttered.

'Then you'll know he's a lovely man,' Xavier smiled. 'This is a lovely city. I really like it here.'

'Don't I know it...' Kiki said quietly. Xavier leant forward.

'I hope there's not a problem,' he asked, 'Two witches being here.' Kiki looked up at him. 'Because, you were here first and I can leave if-'

'No!' Tombo said suddenly. Kiki gave him an angry glare. Xavier, sensing how uncomfortable Kiki was feeling decided to leave.

'I should go,' he said. 'I'm sure you're busy.'

'Actually we were going to visit yo-' Tombo could not finish his sentence as Kiki silenced him by kicking him in the shin.

'I'll see you soon, Kiki,' Xavier smiled. 'It's so nice to know another witch!' He grinned excitedly and moved backward through the air, jumping of the steeple of the clock tower. As he passed over the city, Tombo leant forward.

'Why'd you kick me?' he asked, rubbing his leg.

'So that's him, then?' Kiki thought aloud.

'Sure is. Pretty cool, huh?' Kiki watched Xavier as landed on the street and a crowd of people gathered excitedly around him. Kiki sighed and looked at the clock tower. She felt as if this was not her city anymore...

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading! If you've enjoyed what you've read so far, more will be coming so keep an eye out. If you feel like it, please review or comment and tell me what you liked. I always appreciate reviews so don't be shy and stay tuned for updates. Andy **


	2. Chapter 2

**Kiki's Replacement Service**

**Part Two**

Jiji and Lily were sat on the rooftop of the bakery with their kittens. Lily was resting her head on Jiji's paw while the kittens played a little bit apart from them. One of their babies slipped on the roof tiles and began to slide off the rooftop but Jiji caught him before he fell. Jiji strained himself slightly as he pulled his child back up, realising that pretty soon the baby cats would soon be all grown up. Lily went over to him and nuzzled her head against his as she noticed his expression. Their tender moment was interrupted by a crash that startled them both. Kiki and Tombo had landed in the courtyard behind the bakery, accidentally knocking over some of the garbage cans by the rear door to the kitchen. After skidding to a halt on the grass, Tombo immediately stepped away from the broom. Kiki threw it to the side and immediately began pacing. Her fists were clenched together and her teeth were grinding hard enough to be heard.

"Did you see him?" Kiki finally spoke after a few tense moments of pacing. "Did you... see... _him_?" Her tone was suddenly very uncharacteristic. She was short, almost angry. Tombo wondered what would happen if a witch were to get really mad but soon pushed these thoughts from his mind when he took into account how Kiki was acting. She was uttering strange, short remarks. "Who is he?" "Did you see that hair?" "He must think he's so great!" She stopped and looked to Tombo so suddenly it made him jump. She began stomping toward him. "Why did you have to tell him that we were going to see him?"

"Well we were until you suddenly started acting weird," Tombo backed away instinctively. He had never seen Kiki like this. "Kiki, are you alright?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I am fine!" Kiki's shouting suggested otherwise but Tombo did not push the issue. "Gosh! Don't I have a reason to be a bit upset? I leave for a few weeks and it's like you've all forgotten about me and replaced me. With a _boy_!"

"Kiki, I didn't forget about you," Tombo said quietly. Kiki's expression softened almost instantly and she sighed.

"Tombo, I'm sorry," she said hugging her friend, speaking into his shoulder. "I don't know what's come over me."

"I'm sure you'll feel better after a good night's sleep," Tombo embraced her back. The two stood there quietly for a moment before Kiki stepped away from the embrace. She smiled at him, silently thanking him for not being angry with her. The two then parted company, Kiki retreating upstairs and going straight to bed. Jiji, after watching everything with Lily, licked her on the cheek and then went inside. As Kiki climbed into her bed, Jiji joined her and let out a quiet meow. He then curled up next to her pillow and the two fell asleep.

...KRS...

The following week did little to improve Kiki's mood or offset her feelings of being replaced. A few townspeople had come to the bakery to say hello over the few days but the conversation added up to little more than small talk. People who were once her friends now felt like strangers. She felt that she lacked that personal touch with her customers. There was little energy or excitement directed her way. Everyone's attention was on Xavier.

Kiki had learnt more about him over the next few days. It would be a challenge not to as everyone was talking about him. Everyone was speaking of the new witch Xavier who had come from the north just under a month ago. The land to the north was a very cold place high into the mountains. Xavier came from one of the more remote cities where witches were very rare. Male witches were almost unheard of the world over. The last male witch was Orion, the one who could see into the future. Orion's days were long since over and Xavier seemed eager to fill the void.

But why here? Kiki thought about this during the quieter periods in the bakery. Why did he have to come all the way to Koriko? There were surely hundreds of other villages, towns or cities that had no witch present. Why did he have to move in on Kiki's place like this? She rested her head on the counter as she thought about Xavier's motivations, becoming more and more frustrated. The customer door opened and Kiki looked up. It should have come as no surprise that Xavier walked through the door. However it did surprise Kiki and she fell off her stool. Xavier immediately ran over to her.

"Are you alright?"

Kiki knew that if someone asked her that question one more time she would lose her mind.

"Sure," she hastily stood up. "What can I get you?" Xavier eyed Kiki with an unusual expression.

"Well I actually came here to see you."

"Oh, I'm sorry but I'm working."

"Yes, I know. That's why I came here because I wanted to see you." Xavier paused for a moment, his blonde hair gently moving in a light breeze. "I thought you had a delivery service?"

"Oh I did, I mean I _do_! It's just... you know not everyone knows I'm back yet so I guess I'm just waiting before I take on anymore clients."

"I see," Xavier paced around the empty shop floor, glancing at the various products without really looking at them. "It smells great in here."

"You get used to it," Kiki shrugged. Xavier nodded and a moment of silence fell on both of them.

"What are you doing here?" Kiki asked suddenly. The question came out a lot more directly than she had meant it to sound. "I mean... what brings you to Koriko?" Xavier smiled at her.

"I'm doing my training. I came here for the same reason you did." Kiki frowned slightly. "I like this place. It's very different from up north. The air here is fresher; more clear. You've not been taken over by the machines like we have."

"How come you became a witch?" Kiki asked as suddenly as her previous question. "I mean from what I hear everyone up north uses machines as easily as I use magic."

"We do," Xavier nodded. There was suddenly glumness to his tone and darkness in his eyes. "Being surrounded by all that technology is alright for some people but it's not for me. I wanted to do something different; I wanted to become a witch rather than work inside one of the offices. I guess I wanted to be unique."

"Well you've captured the hearts of everyone in this town," Kiki told him, resting her chin on her fist.

"Just as you once did." Kiki went to say something else but stopped, losing the words. She simply wet her dry lips and sat back in her chair. "I really hope we can be friends, Kiki."

"Well I'll have to get to know you first, won't I?"

"Everyone in the town knows me and they like me."

"I think for myself." Kiki had no idea why her tone was so volatile and she was surprised that she was sounding this way. Xavier sighed and brushed his hear from his face.

"Alright. You win." He held up his hands and moved to the door. "I'll let you come to me."

With that Xavier left the bakery. The gentle wind outside suddenly became a lot more blustery.

...KRS...

The sky was cloudy and the winds were strong. A spell of bad weather had fallen over the town with very little indication that it would be going any time soon. Jiji and Lily spent their days inside Kiki's room while Kiki herself was inside the bakery, working. Osono often shot concerned glances at the girl when she thought that she was not looking. Each time Osono did, she slowly became more and more worried about the girl. Kiki had not been in this kind of a flunk since she had lost her powers for a brief period that one time. Kiki was still in full control of her abilities, not that she had any chance to use them in this weather. Osono could not put her finger on what was wrong but she was fairly sure that it had something to do with the new witch in town. She looked at it from Kiki's point of view and could understand how she may be feeling forgotten or replaced. She did what she could to try and make Kiki feel better.

Kiki caught Osono staring at her every time she did it and interpreted her frequent gestures of kindness for ones of sympathy. Everyone in town was beginning to irritate her slightly and so she asked Osono if she could take the rest of the day off. She knew that she would accept; it was not as if they were particularly busy. The strong wind appeared to have a negative effect on the customer base. Deciding not to fly, Kiki walked and took the bus to where she wanted to go. In no time at all she was knocking on the door of her good friend Ursula. The painter who still lived in the middle of the woods opened her door almost at once and looked shocked to see her.

"Kiki?" she gasped. "It's so great to see you!"

It took them about an hour for the two to catch up. Ursula told Kiki everything about her life; she had managed to sell a few paintings to a small gallery in a nearby town. She had even received a few commissions for some pieces but she was invoking the artist's right to do it when "her muse permitted". It did not take long after the third cup of tea was finished that the conversation drifted toward Xavier.

"You only come and see me when you've got problems," Ursula grinned, setting her empty cup down. Kiki looked slightly off, as she had done for the entire visit. Now she knew why. "So tell me about this Xavier guy."

"What's there to tell?" Kiki shrugged. "He's replaced me. That's pretty much it."

"Oh come on now, Kiki, don't you think you're exaggerating?"

"I go away for a little while and now everyone has just forgotten me. The only people who still seem to care are Osono, Tombo and Jiji." She paused and sighed dejectedly. "One third of the people who still like me are an animal who can't even speak!"

"I still like you," Ursula pointed out. That changed the fraction into one quarter. Kiki ran her hand through her hair. She looked weary. Ursula leant forward. "Do you think you maybe feel intimidated by this guy?"

"Well don't I have a reason? He's better than me at almost everything."

"But he isn't you, Kiki," Ursula told her, holding her hand firmly. "He may be the hottest thing in town right now but he is not and will never be you. You still have your friends and family; they're the most important thing that anyone can have."

"I guess," Kiki breathed, not sounding entirely convinced. The wind outside rapped more branches against the windows. Some of the objects inside the house began to shake slightly. Ursula got to her feet and moved over to the window, making sure that it was tightly shut. She stood by the window, leaning against the ledge as she looked up into the sky. Through the trees she could see the dark clouds up ahead.

"A storm's coming." Ursula looked over to Kiki. "You know just like this storm will come and go, so will this Xavier kid. Everyone will get bored of him and then come back to you because you're special, not because of your powers but because of the kind of person you are. You're funny, kind and cheerful. People will come back to you because of that, not because you've got great magical power."

"You think?"

"I do," Ursula nodded. "But they won't come back if you keep sulking around like this. You think the town has changed? Well you've changed too. Everyone changes but you just need to hold on to what's best in you and let go what's the worst. Right now you seem to be holding onto the worst."

"Thanks, Ursula," Kiki smiled for the first time in what felt like ages. Ursula smiled, shrugging the comment off humbly. She looked out of the window again and bit her lower lip.

"I think you should stay here tonight; the weather's getting quite bad."

...KRS...

The two girls stayed up to a reasonable time, chatting and laughing. The wind howled in the background the whole time. Occasionally it started to rain but it did not last for very long. When they finally went to sleep, Kiki felt happier than she had done in all week.

When her eyes open she knew that she was still asleep. Kiki was dreaming. She climbed out of bed but saw that there was no floor. She was in the sky, floating above Koriko. She was not falling or flying, she was just there sat on the edge of her bed suspended in mid air. She got off the mattress and her feet were supported by some invisible force that kept her up. She looked around and saw that her bed had disappeared. Kiki decided to move forward, walking over Koriko.

The clouds were gone leaving nothing but glorious sunshine. There was no wind, instead only whispers. They were the whispers of people although Kiki could not quite make out what they were saying. They seemed to be light-hearted and cheerful so she did not worry. She felt quite relaxed. She looked down and saw the beach. She still felt relaxed as she saw the people on the sand running away from the edge of the water. Looking over slightly she saw a huge tidal wave making its way toward the city. She felt an odd indifference when she saw the wall of water crash over the beach and plough through the streets, crushing buildings and sweeping people away. Kiki felt nothing.

Kiki did feel a pain in her forehead when she suddenly woke up, sitting up and smacking her head against a lamp. She was trembling all of a sudden. Ursula, having heard the bang, looked over to Kiki and turned on the light, inquiring what was wrong. Kiki could only look at her, breathing heavily.

It took moments for Kiki to get dressed and storm out of the cabin, leaving Ursula without even saying a word. She ran through the path in the dark woods, the wind howling at her as if warning her to stop. Branches fell from trees and flew at her but Kiki managed to avoid them; all that time riding her broom into things had developed her agility. Kiki emerged on the main road and looked in each direction but saw no vehicles. She started running toward Koriko. After about ten minutes she turned around when she saw the lights of an approaching vehicle. She waved for the driver to stop and thankfully he did. Kiki climbed into the passenger's side and yelled for the driver to get to town as fast as he could. The man recognised Kiki but she looked very different with her hair blown all over her sweaty, dirty face.

It did not take long to arrive in town and Kiki leapt from the vehicle without even closing the door. The strong winds managed to do that for her. She looked up and saw the time on the clock tower; it was just past five in the morning. Kiki ran as fast as she could to the town hall and ran through the doors so suddenly she startled the night porter awake. In a dazed state he did not understand the request when she said that she needed to see the mayor. Slamming her fist on the desk the second time made the point clear enough.

"Kiki," the mayor said with the confusion and slight annoyance clear in the sound of his voice. "What can I do for you?"

"Mr Mayor, a tidal wave is about to strike the city!"

"I beg your pardon?" The mayor rubbed the weariness from his eyes as Kiki told him what she had seen. "I see..." There was a moment where the only sound that could be heard was the wind outside.

"We need to evacuate the people by the coast immediately!"

"Yes, yes, we could..." The mayor went over to his telephone. "Or we could ask Xavier to see if he could help stop it?" He lifted the receiver and dialled a number. The mayor had Xavier's home number? Kiki suppressed the sudden surge of anger that swelled in the gut and looked out of the window. Her face fell and she stepped toward the door.

"I think it's too late for that," Kiki cried, running out of the room. The mayor glanced out of the window and the telephone fell from his grasp as he saw what Kiki had seen. In the distance, a huge tidal wave was heading toward the city.

The alarm began to sound.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

The disaster alarm wailed over the sound of violent wind that crashed through the city. Lights in buildings turned on with people hurrying to the window to see what was going on. Not far from Koriko, just off the coast, was the wave. It was taller than any wave should have been and heading toward them. As soon as Kiki got to the streets people were already running for their lives, fleeing with great urgency taking with them little more than the clothes on their backs. Vehicles started to clog the roads, slowing down the evacuation effort as people converged on the same escape routes. With the size of the wave and the speed it was bearing down on the city there was no way that everyone would get away in time. Not even close.

Running as fast as she could, cutting in between groups of people and running around cars, Kiki turned a corner and ran down an alleyway. People were rushing past her in the opposite direction, one man turning, warning her of danger. He shouted her by name, begging her to stop but Kiki did not listen and pressed on as if he were not there. As the gap between them grew, the man turned and continued on his way. Kiki was glancing at every door she passed as she made her way through the alley. She attempted to open one but it was locked. She tried two other doors but had no success, gritting her teeth in desperate frustration.

Kiki reached the end of the alleyway and emerged onto a busy street. Vehicles were speeding by, the drivers honking their horns desperately at pedestrians that got in their way. Between the sound of the echoing disaster alarm, the drone of vehicles honking and the cries from people all around the town it was almost impossible to think. Kiki stopped, glancing around in a brief search of inspiration. In the far distance she could see the coastline and the huge wave that was headed for Koriko. She could not tell how close it was nor how fast it was moving but she knew she had to move fast.

The doors to a hotel burst open as one of the porters began ushering the guests out. Men, women and families all joined the ranks of the pandemonium that was the streets of Koriko. While they began their desperate push to safety, Kiki made her way toward the hotel. She crossed the road, jumping out of the path of a speeding car that screeched by, honking furiously at her. She sprinted across the road and hopped onto the path, running up the stairs and into the hotel. In the lobby she paused to look around. Everyone was too busy rushing around to notice her, the guests heading for the exit and the staff trying to usher everyone out. Kiki's eyes then narrowed as she saw a door on the other side of the lobby. Moving between people, she went to it and turned the handle. The door popped open and Kiki stepped inside, emerging a few seconds later holding a broom.

Back on the street she mounted the broom and the bristles burst out vehemently, expanding as she lifted up from the ground and flew toward the coastline. The wind was incredible, making steering very difficult. Her hands were already numbing in the cold and her eyes watering as she pressed forward through the wall of wind. Kiki leant in close to the broom handle and flew forward with greater speed.

It was only then the thought occurred to Kiki that she had no idea what she was doing. What could she do? All she could do was fly and even though she could do it very well it would not be too useful in this situation. She could probably rescue one, maybe two people before the wave hit the town. Out of all of Koriko she could only save two people. She immediately thought of Tombo, biting down on her lower lip as she did so. Kiki wondered where he would be right now. He certainly would not be at home in bed, not while all this was going on. He would probably be at the Aviation Club, or at least heading there. He would probably use an airship to try and escape, maybe helping a few people along the way.

Kiki then thought of Osono and the baby at the bakery. They were close to the coast, right in the path of the wave. There was almost no chance that they would be spared the devastating effects of the wave as it made contact with the land. They needed to get out immediately. They needed protection. Osono and her husband would be stuck where they were with almost no escape. Then there was Jiji, Lily and the kittens. Kiki gripped the handle of her broom tightly as the horrid, sickening realisation dawned on her.

She could not save everyone she cared about, not by a long shot.

Through teary eyes Kiki saw a large airship in the distance. It was the biggest she had ever seen and it was making its way along the coastline, seemingly unaffected by the turbulent weather. It was drifting across the path of the wave that was closing in on the town, a moderate distance from the coastline. Kiki squinted and could just about make out the markings on the side of the dirigible. The logo of the Aviation Club was displayed on the side of the airship in the path of destruction. Kiki felt drawn to the airship as she watched it come to a stop as calmly as it had been travelling. It was now stationed in what appeared to be the centre of the wave's path. Kiki leant forward and tore through the air faster than before. Her gaze was fixed on the airship, knowing that that would be where Tombo was.

Tombo was at the airship's controls, pushing buttons and pulling leavers. Xavier was stood at the window, watching the wave as it imposed itself down on them. It was closer than ever and time was running out.

"There!" Tombo announced. "I've locked the controls, we should all be good!"

"Then let's go!" Xavier said, rushing toward the access door of the cockpit. His broom was resting against the door but as he reached for it the cockpit began to shudder and it fell to the floor. Tombo stopped, holding out his hands to stop himself from falling, looking around nervously. Xavier lifted his broom from the floor, mounted it and gestured to Tombo to climb on. Tombo sat behind him and Xavier gestured to the door. It flew open and he and Tombo were sucked out of the cockpit with great force.

Kiki arrived at the coastline in time to see Xavier and Tombo exit the airship. By the look of it, Xavier was having trouble controlling his broom. They were losing altitude, falling fast toward the ocean. Kiki dove down to try and intercept them.

"Tombo!" Xavier shouted. "I can't control it!" They were spinning in the air, totally out of control. Xavier was sweating heavily as he tried in vain to control the broomstick.

"Xavier!" Tombo cried over the hailing wind. "Let go!" Xavier struggled further with the broom, ignoring him. He gritted his teeth as he handled the broom. He was simply not strong enough to fly it in this weather. "Let go!" Tombo said again. "You can fly better without a broom."

"If I do that then you'll fall!"

"If you don't then Koriko will be destroyed!"

They were crashing down closer to the ocean with increasing speed. Xavier looked up at the dirigible and then down to the sea. He took a deep breath and then lunged forward, off his broom and into empty space. As Tombo and his broom began falling straight down, Xavier was able to move in the air with great ease. He turned, making his whole body face the dirigible. He held his palm up to the sky and with all his might, a small light sparked. The spark flickered for a moment before shooting up toward the airship. Xavier then looked down and saw Tombo. He was meters away from the ocean.

Shooting across the surface of the sea, Kiki pulled her broom up and flew straight into Tombo. She grabbed hold of him, as Xavier's broom crashed into the sea mere seconds later, being torn apart instantly in the strong current.

"Kiki?" Tombo said as she came to a stop, allowing him to climb onto the back. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life," she said, her gaze resting on the wall of water that was now closer than ever. It did not move as a wave should have moved. Its speed was constant, almost predetermined as if someone had told it how fast to go. Kiki had no time to ponder this, however, as she needed to get out of there. Turning in the air, Kiki sped back toward the coastline, gaining altitude and rising up from the ocean. Xavier soon appeared at her side.

"Nice catch!" he said.

"Why on Earth did you just let him fall like that?" Kiki shouted.

"We have a plan," Tombo said. "But we need to move faster!"

Xavier moved to the rear of Kiki's broom and placed his hands on the bristles. With a sudden great push, the three shot forward away from the dirigible and the wave. They sped forward, cutting through the great wind with the ease of flying on a calm day. The coastline came up fast and Xavier guided them down to the beach. The broom came to a stop and they set their feet on the ground.

"Why are we stopping here?" Kiki cried, trying to take off once more. "We have to get out of here!" The spark Xavier created beneath the airship had travelled high and was close to the dirigible.

"Get down!" Xavier ordered with Tombo falling to the ground, placing his hands over his head.

"What are you doing?" Kiki asked. Xavier made his way toward her. The spark hit the airship, lighting it up.

"Kiki, you need to…"

There came a terrific explosion from the airship that lit up the stormy town with a bright orange glow. Kiki and Xavier were knocked off their feet, pushed back by a powerful shockwave. Looking around, Kiki watched in awe as most of the water from the wave was vaporised by the huge explosion, steaming up into the sky. The blast had knocked the rest of the wave sideways, directing it away from Koriko and instead directing it out to sea to the right or toward the forest to the left. Kiki was able to get to her feet, using her broom to prop her up. She watched as the redirected wave made its way forward, away from the town. Xavier got up and went to stand by Kiki. They stood in silence for a moment, taking in the sight.

"What did you just do?" Kiki asked. The air was quiet and the wind was now gentle. A gentle breeze went through her hair.

"We just saved Koriko!" Tombo exclaimed proudly as he got to his feet, brushing the sand off his clothes.

"You saved Koriko by nearly blowing it up?"

"The size of that wave meant we needed to do something extreme," Xavier said. "It would have torn the town apart if we hadn't redirected it."

"Who came up with this plan?" Kiki asked, hearing the wave crashing into the forest behind them. The water uprooted some trees while completely snapping other ones into pieces. Without slowing down, the water made its way through the forest, cutting through the trees with the ease of a lawnmower cutting through grass.

"We both came up with the plan," Tombo said. "I was at the Aviation Club when I saw the wave coming. I called Xavier and…"

"You called him?" Kiki asked. "Why didn't you call me?" Tombo paused, unsure of how to respond.

"Xavier was the only one who could help," Tombo said candidly. "He was the only one who would have been able to convert the helium in the airship into the ultra-explosive…"

"Look, Kiki," Xavier interrupted him, moving around her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "The town is safe. Isn't that all that matters? It doesn't matter who did what. All that matters is that the wave is headed for the forest, far away from anyone who could get hurt."

"The forest?" Kiki repeated, looking around and watching the path of the wave as it headed deep into the woodland. With that, Kiki had a feeling of profound sickness in her stomach. It would not slow down before it reached where Ursula lived.

Without a word Kiki mounted her broom, lifting up and shot forward, heading for the forest. Deep in the trees, Ursula emerged from her house after the ground shook violently following the loud bang. She could not tell what had caused it but the effect of it was intense. A shockwave had washed through the forest, knocking branches off trees and picture frames off her the walls of her house. After a few moments watching the forest as it began to quieten down again, Ursula stepped back inside, tightly closing the door. She then took a moment to survey the state her house was in. Furniture was toppled over, picture frames had fallen off the walls and fixtures such as lights were severely damaged. Ursula sighed as she moved toward a picture that was on the floor, picking it up to return it to its rightful place. It was a hand drawn picture of her house that she had drawn when she first moved here. As she hung it on the wall she knew it would take a while to return her house the way it had been before.

Kiki had left Koriko and was moving along the outskirts. The path of the wave was right in front of her, crashing forward as if it moved with deliberate intent. She flew low, landmarks flashing by as she hurried to Ursula. Kiki moved dangerously fast with unrelenting determination, possessing the same drive as the wave as it crashed on. Ursula, meanwhile, stepped back from her drawing, satisfied it was hung straight before moving over to the other side of the house to fix another one. At the same time Kiki began flying over the fast moving water that was destroying the forest. She pressed forward and overtook the wave, her broom so low it was skirting along the top of the trees.

Ursula stopped in the middle of her house. In the far distance the gentle sound of rumbling could be heard. She glanced around and saw a glass of water on the coffee table. The water was shimmering gently but the longer she looked at it the more intense the vibrations became. The water vibrated with the same intensity as if it were boiling. The rumbling sound grew louder and louder and the whole house soon began to shake. The shaking was continuous, rather than the sudden, crashing burst that had occurred moments earlier. The picture of her cabin fell off the wall again, this time shattering into pieces on the ground. Ursula looked at it and saw pieces of glass vibrating on the ground. Kiki was close to the house but the waves were closer behind her. She saw in the distance where Ursula lived and pressed forward harder than she had ever pressed before. Kiki flew down, smashing through branches of trees and coming to the clearing where the house was. She crashed through the front door, startling Ursula.

"Get on!" Kiki shouted, hovering in the doorway. Seeing the wall of water behind Kiki, Ursula jumped on the broom. Kiki flew out and shot straight up into the sky just as the water crashed into the clearing and tore into the house. Within moments the modest cabin was lifted off its foundations by the water and torn apart by the strong current. Kiki and Ursula watched from above as they saw the house break into fragments, the walls splintering, the roof collapsing and the mangled furniture spilling out into the forest. Ursula watched in total shock, unable to take in what was happening.

"Are you okay?" Kiki asked over the torrential sound of rushing water below.

"My home…" Ursula spoke softly, tears forming in her eyes. "I've lost everything." Her tone was not one of raw grief, anger or sadness. She was quiet, resigned to what had just happened and accepting it. Despite this, tears still fell down her face and she buried her face into Kiki's back, weeping quietly.

Without saying a word, Kiki flew them back to Koriko.


End file.
